Gary Sheffield left San Diego too soon, and he would likely be coming back too late. He is 40 years old, defensively deficient, burdened by a recent history of shoulder problems and a 2008 batting average of .225.

Fresh from a last-place season, located at the epicenter of America's economic turmoil, the Detroit Tigers have nonetheless chosen to swallow Sheffield's $14 million salary rather than allow him to earn it – this though his next big league home run would be No. 500.

This means that once Sheffield clears waivers this morning, any club can sign him for the major league minimum of $400,000. This does not mean, however, that the waiver-watching, Dumpster-diving Padres will make a run at their 1992 National League batting champion.

“Have not given it much thought,” General Manager Kevin Towers said yesterday via e-mail. “We need to not only stay focused on the present, but also be thinking about our club long term. We need to find out what we have with (Scott) Hairston and (Chase) Headley, and by bringing in Sheffield, that would defeat the purpose for POTENTIALLY a short term benefit.”

Though there's a certain symmetry to bringing Sheffield back to where he first attained stardom, and while it's worth noting that he has yet to strike out as many times in one season as Hairston or Headley did last year, the Padres are not oblivious to perceptions. They have to know that adding a 40-year-old designated hitter could seem antithetical to a youth movement in a non-DH league.

To forward-looking Friars fans, signing Sheffield might look more like a stunt than a strategy: at best, a nostalgic step backward; at worst, a desperate grab for a gate attraction. But to those citizens of Padre Nation who witnessed 99 losses last season and are hard-pressed to see progress – and my unscientific survey says that's most of you – such a stunt might be preferable to more of the status quo.

What new Padres CEO Jeff Moorad needs to evaluate is whether the young players who make up the core of his club are legitimate prospects or just warm bodies. Given Moorad's brief tenure, those evaluations may take some time. Still, because Moorad has already traded Hairston once (from the Arizona Diamondbacks), and for a pitcher with a broken hand (Leo Rosales), some of his due diligence may already be done.

What the Padres ought to consider is whether adding Sheffield at a minimum wage might give them the flexibility to scare up more starting pitching through the trade market and/or facilitate Headley's return to his preferred position, third base.

What Sheffield has to decide is whether he can be content in a reserve role with a contending club or if he prefers to hold out for maximum playing time. He could join the Philadelphia Phillies, for instance – the world champions have shown qualified interest and have cleared a spot by releasing Geoff Jenkins – or he could look for a leading role with a lesser club.

How is he leaning? Hard to say. Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams, did not respond to an interview request yesterday.

Though Sheffield says returning to the outfield “is what I yearn for,” his profile is progressively that of a designated hitter. Sheffield has been used as a DH 225 times over the past two seasons, against only 18 outfield appearances. He spent six games in the outfield during the 2008 season – all in left field, all in May – and finished four of them.

Upon his release by the Tigers, Sheffield was quick to characterize his DH days as typecasting.

“It kind of puts you in a box when you accept the DH role,” he said, “because people start labeling you as that's all you can do. And that's not the case.”

Maybe not. Yet while Gary Sheffield has recorded as many as 17 outfield assists in one season, and though he once stole 25 bases, his stock in trade is slugging. Sheffield has exceeded 30 homers in eight seasons and has reached base by a hit or a walk 4,050 times in 2,476 big-league games. Among active players, only Ken Griffey Jr. has compiled more total bases.

Though these numbers tell a story of Hall of Fame caliber, maybe the most impressive aspect of Gary Sheffield's career has been all of the home runs he has narrowly missed. Blessed with an astonishingly quick swing, and prone to pull, Sheffield probably hit more 400-foot fouls than any player of his generation. Move the left-field line 10 degrees farther left, and Sheffield might have 900 home runs by now.

If Sheffield temporarily supplemented his talent with steroids – he admitted to having unknowingly used a steroid cream in 2002 – he never experienced the eye-popping improvement of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa.

He was 23 years old when the Padres acquired him, and immediately terrific. Then he was gone, at 24, in the Trevor Hoffman trade. Perhaps the two of them will cross paths again in Cooperstown.